Matlock (TV Series) The Buddies (1989) User Reviews

No real *Spoilers* - I DO NOT reveal the killer, just a few of the plot points

[vnssyndrome89 · 7/10 · 10 November 2017]

One of Ben's oldest friends writes him a deathbed confession, telling him a horrifying tale of rape & murder. In 1955, Ben missed their yearly hunting trip, but the other 4 friends went without him. They picked up a young hitchhiker on their way to the hunting cabin, and proceeded to get very drunk. The friend who wrote Ben the letter, felt like something bad might happen to this hitchhiker, so he left, leaving the girl with the remaining men. A few days later, the girl's body is found, and a local man is arrested and convicted for her murder.

Matlock goes to his remaining friends after the funeral, and asks the hard questions. His friends try to convince him that they know nothing about it, and just when Ben is beginning to believe them, he is almost killed in a car bomb.

I will leave the rest of the revelations to Matlock. He reveals all, even though it ruins many lives, and clears one.

If you like Matlock, then definitely catch this episode.

Personal stakes for Ben.

[reb-warrior · 8/10 · 20 May 2023]

Pretty good one as Ben receives a letter from an old pal that just passed away that he knew since his young adult days. The letter implicates 3 of Ben's other pals from this time period of rape and murder.

First of all, the dead old pal was kind of a jerk, wasn't he? He let an innocent man go to prison for years for a crime he didn't commit. Then he left it up to Ben to fix everything after he passed away. But even Ben couldn't fix the freedom the man lost in all the years he was in prison. That is gone forever.

Ben is about to drop everything because when he confronted his 3 old pals, they denied it and brushed it off as their old pal being very sick and on morphine before he passed. Saying nothing happened and there was no girl. But then Ben is almost killed in a car bomb and realizes one of them did it.

Ben is anguished to believe one of his 3 old friends was involved in the past murder and tried to kill him. I think right here there's a question mark. Why did Ben believe "one of them" and not "all of them?" There's really no explanation for this. It just goes from there. The case is brought to some kind of unusual circumstance trial wherein Ben is defending the man convicted of the past murder, Calvin.

It turns out one of them did kill the girl in a murder pact. And that same one did try and kill Ben. The problem here for me is that the rape by ALL of them and the murder pact by ALL of them seem to be glossed over. I mean yeah, one guy did it after the fella who initially was supposed to kill the girl backed out. He did it unbeknownst to the other two. Ben uncovers the truth in court, so that guy is very likely gonna be charged. And Calvin is cleared. But the ending didn't imply that the other two were being charged with anything. Since there was a murder pact by all of them, not to mention the rape, I think the other two should have been charged.

Anyway, pretty good one. In the end, Ben laments to Conrad that he didn't know his old friends at all. He also shakes his head "no" to the two other men after the case is over and they head to the elevator in the courthouse. Indicating that their friendship is over and he wants nothing to do with them. 8/10.

KILLER JUST A KILLER EP

[AmericanDude · 10/10 · 14 December 2019]

Every once in awhile you'll catch a 7 star ep of Matlock or maybe a 8 star ep. This one here is just a killer ep probably the best one since the convict (season 1).